1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a diagnostic imaging apparatus and a method of operating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A diagnostic imaging apparatus may be, for example, a medical imaging apparatus such as an ultrasonic imaging apparatus, a computer tomography (CT) system, or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system.
By using the diagnostic imaging apparatus, a subject into which a contrast agent is injected may be scanned to obtain a contrast agent image, and the contrast agent image may be displayed. A user may diagnose an illness of the subject by viewing the contrast agent image.
The contrast agent injected into the subject moves along blood vessels of the subject. The blood vessels shown on the contrast agent image become bright as the contrast agent flows into the blood vessels, and become dark when the contrast agent flows away therefrom. Cancer tissues create a large number of blood vessels around themselves to draw a large amount of blood, and thus the contrast agent quickly flows into and out from the cancer tissues compared to normal tissues. Accordingly, a user may diagnose the presence of cancer tissues in the subject by determining changes in brightness of the contrast agent image over time.
However, although it ma be possible for the user to diagnose cancer just by viewing a contrast agent image that is displayed in real-time after the contrast agent is injected into the subject, it is difficult for the user to easily recognize the change in brightness in the contrast agent image according to time. Accordingly, diagnosis accuracy may decrease. To increase diagnosis accuracy, an additional process such as rechecking of the contrast agent image by the user may be performed. However, if the additional process is performed, diagnosis may be delayed.
Thus, an efficient diagnostic imaging apparatus and a method of operating the same efficiently are required.